Pickering Casino Resort — Attraction in Pickering

POOR HOTEL MANAMANAGEMENT

front desk staff act like high school bullies.

After this stay I wont be returning

First issue was I was told the pool was broken upon check in, not upon booking which happened same day and no estimated time when it would be repaired very disappointing for my 6 yr old.

After a few nights there was hockey teams all over the hotel running around like a zoo

All the sudden the pool was open again.

They advised getting access to the pool would be hard, due to the hockey teams staying they have timed swiming slots and wristbands for pool entrance during these weekends.

The real issue I had, was hotel front desk especially the hotel management team.

Management seemed shocked and unprepared to have ppl work from the hotel room.... in 2025.

I had one manager named Amber tell me I couldn't work from the hotel as it was a casino lol.

I have stayed at Bellagio in Vegas and pretty sure they rent out conference rooms for meetings.

Needing to work from hotel rooms in 2025, you would think is a fairly standard request.

Finally after arguing and several attempts. Actually thinking, I would need to pack up and go to another hotel. They were able to assist and make an accommodation for me, to work from the hotel .....They had to make an accommodation.

It was not a quick every day thing. I waited seveal hrs for them to sort it out for me. It obvioulsy wasn't normal for them to have someone working while they stay at the hotel.

Quickly I realized most the hotel is occupied with ppl getting deals for the room for 40$/night not business ppl renting the room at full price for personal use like me.

After a few days stay I had a very off putting experience where Elise the hotel manager showed up at my room door and was agreesive and condescending she insisted they enter my room on the spot for what she called a " room check".

It was super invasive, not professional at all or how it should have been handled.

In all my travels many different places cruise ships, all inclusive, hotels in Europe I have never had staff require a on the spot "room check" once.

Not sure why Elise and Amber felt the need to act so petty towards me. I felt I was being bullied by the female hotel staff and management team at that point.

I advised I would come down after work to sort things out and hopefully they could accommodate doing my mandatory "room check" when I am not working!!! I even offered to move rooms for them, after I was done work.

Elise expected to enter my room with zero notice, or prior communication ahout a mandatory "room check". Elise stood at my door and advised me it was protocol to enter my room on the spot ZERO notice!!

There was absolutely no reason to approach me with such an aggressive attitude.

I am a single local middle age women with a 6 yr old.I grew up in the Pickering area and I am currently raising my family in Durham. Trying to work and go to school from the hotel while we do renovations in our home .

They weren't able to figure out a less interfering time for "their protocols" to be met without impossing on me as their customer ?

Management behaved like high school bullies in a stand off with me demanding on the spot access to my room and even resorted to smart ass exchange of words towards me when I refused them to immediately enter my room as I was in the middle of a meeting.

I am DISGUSTED with how women treat other women !!!!

They could use a course on how to provide customer service. I am spent $6000 to stay at a hotel for a few nights would appreciate less attitude.

Very poor customer service skills overall from both Amber and Elise.

This experience made me find this casino and hotel very mickey mouse.

I found the doorman, room cleaning team and the starbucks staff pleasant, this review does not reflect the non hotel front desk staff.

Not at all a 4 star hotel the front desk and hotel management quickly leave a bad taste and make it below...

The Pickering Casino Resort hotel was amazing—10/10! From the front desk staff to the housekeepers, the service was excellent. The hotel was very clean, well-organized, and had a modern, stylish feel. I personally loved the interior design and how everything was thoughtfully placed.

I do wish the windows in my room extended wall-to-wall, but you can’t have it all. The pool was also great and added to the overall experience.

Although it’s connected to the casino, my review is purely about the hotel, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking

CASINO

First off, DO NOT gamble. It’s not luck 🍀 or chance—these machines are programmed to pay out only a small amount after they’ve made a certain profit.

My first day at Pickering Casino was okay. I’m not a gambler—I don’t like losing my hard-earned money. It feels like working just to give it away for free. Anyway, I was staying at the hotel, and my girlfriend suggested we go down to the casino and only spend $40—if we win, we win; if we lose, we lose. I said, “Okay, let’s do it.”

When we got there, we signed up for a casino card. The teller mentioned that if we provided an email, we could spin and win points to play with. I gave them a junk email I’ll never check and filled out the rest of the info incorrectly. To our surprise, both my girlfriend and I received $50 each on our cards—free play money! We were happy about that. 😂

We played with the casino’s money and ended up winning $1,500—and we left immediately.

The next day, we went back with $30 of their free money and won $1,200—again, we cashed out and left. We returned one last time after checking out of the hotel, and that’s when the scam started.

The same security guards who had let us in the previous two days suddenly claimed there was a problem with our IDs and denied us entry. 😂 Wow—now there’s an issue? The funny part? He didn’t even know how to properly read the ID. What he didn’t know was who I am and the kind of influence I have. This is 2025 you have to be careful—a lot of people have reach and know how to pull strings.

To outsmart them, we simply entered through another door. However, one of the security guards from the front either recognized us or got a radio call from someone watching the cameras. He started following us around the casino. Luckily, I had people on the inside watching and recording everything—just in case we decide to make a video about our experience.

Overall, here’s what I noticed:

• I saw people upset, banging the machines, and even a lady crying after losing her money.

• One lady was going from machine to machine, clearly chasing a win.

• While I did see a few people win big, I also witnessed machines malfunction during large payouts—only for the staff to claim, “It wasn’t supposed to be a win.” Like, what?!!

• The environment was clean, the smell wasn’t bad, and the crowd was mostly older people.

• The machines make a lot of noise to draw attention to winners—but trust me, the house always wins in the end.

• ATM fees are a scam. The machines say $6.99, but they actually charge $8.99—and of course, the casino blames it on a third party. Y’all know the tricks.

Bottom line: Have fun if you’re playing, but DO NOT gamble your life away. The system is designed for you to lose—and it’s not...

Casino itself deserves a 5-star review. But let's focus on the hotel this time which deserves 1 if not less.

Rooms are beautiful. New, very clean, spacious, simple. The staff, however, is another story.

The hotel was at most 20% occupancy from what we were told. We were there for a friend's 45th birthday. They had reserved a room for the night ($+250) but since we had a big dinner reservation (costing us $700), we went to the hotel lobby to chat since it has been a very long time since many people had seen each other since the pandemic. We were literally sitting around having drinks as responsible adults without making much noise asides from the loud laughter from having a good time rather than violating fire codes and cramming everyone in the room. The Night Manager politely asked us not to "loiter" in the lobby because "some people" were complaining. Mind you, no one else walked by us towards the elevator as a hotel guest because again, there was probably only one other room booked for the night. The only other public space near the lobby is where Starbucks was but that too was pretty empty and people were minding their business. So these "people" who were complaining were merely the Karens at Front Desk. But okay, we understood and were getting ready to clear out. But what made the experience very negative was the fact that not 2 but 4 of the Managers stood and stared at our party like a bunch of Police Officers discriminating a party of POCs ready to raid and make some arrests. The only things missing on them were bullet proof vests and armour. Oh but it gets better. As we were walking towards the casino (to add to their revenue for the evening) they continued to stare at us, inching towards us, talking about us. It was just such a negative, intimidating and inhospitable experience. May I add that there is absolutely no sign stating that the lobby is for hotel guests only nor was there a capacity limit sign. Even as we were going back into to the casino to add more revenue (and pay for their wages) 2 of them were following us. It was a Caucasian women with dirty blonde hair who was the Night Manager along with a South Asian looking man also part of Management (from what we were told). I wish I had gotten their names but I was so disgusted and even embarrassed as I'm from the hospitality industry. Nothing about them was hospitable, except for the first Night Manager (Woman of Colour with short curly hair. She may have been West Indian). She was doing her job at a respectable manner which was way more hospitable and professional than her colleagues.

Do yourselves a favour and don't invest in staying at the hotel. If Management is reading his, or better yet, their higher up's, have them attend a Guest Relations training session. Instead spend your money at the restaurants and on-floor casino staff who treat guests with much...